‘Absolute joke’ – Fans boo as Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal stopped TWICE for same ‘very bizarre’ reason

Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal endured two unusual stoppages during on Sunday evening.

The north London derby first came to an abrupt halt around the eight-minute mark as both sides looked for the opener.

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Fans inside the stadium and those watching from home were unsure as to what the break in play was about.

However, it was soon revealed that a technical issue between the match officials was the cause.

One of the assistant referees had his microphone pack changed on the sidelines during a break that lasted around five minutes, which Gary Neville labelled an ‘absolute joke’.

Speaking on commentary for talkSPORT, Alex Crook said: “It’s all very bizarre.

“It came at the end of another good Arsenal move, which almost led to the opening goal.”

Crook added: “No on inside the stadium has got the foggiest idea why we’ve stopped play.”

Sam Matterface also said: “He’s [referee Peter Bankes] got the ability to be able to talk to everyone.

“We know that because they do it all the time now with the VAR explanations. The big screens, there’s four of them, are the size of houses in the corners of the ground.

“Why are they not explaining what’s going on?”

Arsenal eventually took the lead through Eberechi Eze on 32 minutes, but Randal Kolo Muani equalised for Spurs just moments later.

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Sky Sports

At the beginning of the second half, it looked as though there was a reoccurrence of the issue.

This time, it was the other assistant referee who was having problems with his kit.

Although it didn’t last as long as the first instance, there was still another delay and fans made their feelings clear with loud boos.

Viktor Gyokeres then scored within two minutes of the restart to put Arsenal back in front, before Eze added a second on the hour.